A recent study led by Massachusetts General Hospital investigator Andrew Loehrer, MD, correlates the expanded health insurance coverage in Massachusetts to reduced racial disparities for minimally invasive surgery. Researchers examined data from nearly 11,000 appendix and gallbladder removals at Massachusetts hospitals between 2001 and 2009, and compared the data to more than 156,000 appendix and gallbladder removals from six other states during the same period. Prior to 2006, research showed that minorities were less likely to receive minimally invasive surgery compared to whites. Findings from the study indicate that the racial disparity disappeared in Massachusetts after the 2006 health care reforms, but persisted in other states. Read the story